Heading to Craven Cottage with a record-equalling seventh away win on the bounce in all competitions in their sights, Liverpool found themselves high on confidence under Kenny Dalglish in his second coming as Reds boss. This would be an occasion that would ultimately end in the most frustrating of manners, though, as Fulham claimed the win in the dying stages of a thrilling affair.
Goals may have been at a premium, with just a late Clint Dempsey goal to separate them, but this match between two evenly-matched teams was well poised throughout. Liverpool's hopes of matching their previous club record of away triumphs still looked to be there for the taking, until Jay Spearing needlessly lunged in on Moussa Dembele to see a straight red card.
For Dempsey himself, the eventual matchwinner on this cold December night under the TV cameras, this would further strengthen the rumours linking him with a move North to Anfield - a transfer that never did come to fruition, with Tottenham Hotspur instead winning the race to land the United States international's signature the following year.
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It was Dempsey who had come closest to opening the scoring when testing Pepe Reina with a long-range drive, before Dembele did likewise from similar range. To add to the open feel to the match, contested on this day in 2011, Mark Schwarzer had to be alert up the other end of the field to deny Andy Carroll's snapshot from 10 yards out.
Fulham, who had picked up just one previous home win in nine attempts, ended the first half the stronger of the two sides thanks to the attacking play of star man Dempsey. Momentum appeared to swing back in the visitors' favour, though, as Jose Enrique unleashed a 30-yard volley which Schwarzer was just about equal to, before Charlie Adam went down claiming a penalty.
Just when the Merseyside outfit had built up a real head of steam for the first time, Spearing dived in on Dembele in what would prove to be the decisive moment of the clash in terms of the balance of things. The explosive midfielder claimed that the ball had been won, which replays seemed to confirm, but he also followed through on Dembele to see his evening come to an early end - much like his career at boyhood club Liverpool in general.
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From that point on the Cottagers, now buoyed by their home supporters on the banks of the Thames, gained some late momentum of their own as Dempsey and Dembele - a thorn in Liverpool's side all game - both fired narrowly wide of Reina's goal. Dalglish's 10 men could not hold off the onslaught any longer and, with five minutes left on the clock, Danny Murphy got the better of Glen Johnson before getting a low shot on target.
Reina somehow let the attempt spill through his grasp, which allowed Dempsey to fire home from close range after simply reacting quicker than Daniel Agger. Liverpool's hopes of making it eight wins in succession away from Anfield ended in the cruellest of fashions, on the back of a contest that they certainly had more than a few chances to win.
Dalglish, never one to keep his true feelings to himself, was quick to slam the referee's decision in awarding the penalty. "Jay Spearing won the ball, but upset the referee with the follow-up," he said post match at Craven Cottage. "Sometimes it's a red, sometimes it's not." Those views, understandably, were not backed by opposite number Martin Jol, who felt that the dismissal was inevitable.
"I think it was a bad tackle. [Dembele's] ankle was there and I think it was a sending-off," he said, before admitting that his team perhaps had fortune on their side to claim the victory. "Tonight we had the rub of the green. We weren't the better team but it was even. Mark Schwarzer is one of the best in the business and he saved us."
While their fortunes may have contrasted somewhat since this fixture, with Liverpool remaining ever-presents in the higher reaches of the Premier League and Fulham dropping into the second tier, this term ended on a real high for the West London club. Jol's charges would finish one spot above their opponents in the final league table, albeit on goal difference alone, underlining just how important this win proved to be in the long run.
The poor eighth-place finish would also cost Dalglish his job at Anfield, despite claiming success in that season's League Cup final at Wembley. The only way is up under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp, many feel, but this match at Craven Cottage perfectly summed up Liverpool's fortunes at the time - capable of great things, yet far too fragile against the division's weaker sides.
Daniel Lewis
